[SavageOne]

So, now those who exercise the 2nd Amendment should be kept off public lands. I also love how they inform the reader that there has been an increase of 300 instances of violation issuances in a decade, as if that is a huge and sudden increase. The comments are typical of the "tolerant" anti's. They portray their noble love of the outdoors and then immediately describe 2A lovers with derisive and insulting name calling.



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/us/a-culture-clash-over-guns-infiltrates-the-backcountry.html?_r=0

 

[HarryO45]

Liberals don't like guns period.

 

[dyeager535]

Already received emails about hearings for shutting down shooting on public land around here, highway 410 specifically.

As with everything, much of the problem most likely starts with a few people. By the time they get done shooting their TV's, stolen road signs, etc., and leaving a hundred or so shotgun hulls (plus empty boxes) on the ground, the place is trashed enough that the next person isn't going to even consider cleaning it up.

The place I am thinking of (and which is the place I believe is driving the push to ban shooting in the area) literally looks like a dump. IMO it's probably better that shooting be confined to one area that is a safe, established place to do it, but thinking a "free" range is going to be clean like a paid range, with almost zero enforcement of littering laws, is wishful thinking at best.

I see piles of shotgun hulls scattered about randomly through the forest roads in any case, without an outright ban on all public lands, that isn't going to change. I also see plenty of beer cans, plastic bottles, and garbage bags, blaming shooters for anything other than safety issues is unfairly targeting them.

 

[Goodchute]

Seem to be on my soapbox this morning, oh well... This is a sad situation, but shows us that the fight for our rights is not over, by a long shot, and probably never will be. We as sportsmen, and women, need to be the best possible ambassadors for our chosen sport that we possibly can. Taking the time to reasonably explain our positions to those who are undecided, and teaching new shooters to enjoy the sport in a responsible manner is a great start. Arguing with zealots is a complete waste of time, and really gets us nowhere. Their minds are made up, don't confuse them with the facts. Ultimately, it is not just the enjoyment of our sport that is under threat, but our very liberty and American way of life. Ok, end of sermon....

 

[USMM guy]

Unfortunate as it may be.

Irresponsible shooters are as big of a problem for responsible shooters as the anti gun people are.

 

[Tobias1976]

Already received emails about hearings for shutting down shooting on public land around here, highway 410 specifically.

As with everything, much of the problem most likely starts with a few people. By the time they get done shooting their TV's, stolen road signs, etc., and leaving a hundred or so shotgun hulls (plus empty boxes) on the ground, the place is trashed enough that the next person isn't going to even consider cleaning it up.

The place I am thinking of (and which is the place I believe is driving the push to ban shooting in the area) literally looks like a dump. IMO it's probably better that shooting be confined to one area that is a safe, established place to do it, but thinking a "free" range is going to be clean like a paid range, with almost zero enforcement of littering laws, is wishful thinking at best.

I see piles of shotgun hulls scattered about randomly through the forest roads in any case, without an outright ban on all public lands, that isn't going to change. I also see plenty of beer cans, plastic bottles, and garbage bags, blaming shooters for anything other than safety issues is unfairly targeting them.

THIS
Twenty five years ago I used to go up to a gravel pit area just outside of North Bend. It was a great place to shoot and only 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. As this location's popularity grew so did the littler problem. Not just tin cans, but a sea of broken glass, shot up 20 lb. BBQ tanks, old TVs.
To deal with the litter problem they placed a dumpster out there hoping that people would pick up their garbage. But after a few weeks the idiots shot up the dumpster.
Place was closed and patrolled after that. Nice going jerks.

 

[dsk]

We have flower sniffers who've been trying to get one of our local outdoor ranges shut down for years because it is close to where a hiking trail crosses, and they say it's too dangerous. Funny thing, but the shooting range was there first by at least 20 years. Of course now that the nature lovers are in town the evil gun people have to go.

 

[dsk]

THIS
Twenty five years ago I used to go up to a gravel pit area just outside of North Bend. It was a great place to shoot and only 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. As this location's popularity grew so did the littler problem. Not just tin cans, but a sea of broken glass, shot up 20 lb. BBQ tanks, old TVs.
To deal with the litter problem they placed a dumpster out there hoping that people would pick up their garbage. But after a few weeks the idiots shot up the dumpster.
Place was closed and patrolled after that. Nice going jerks.

Weyerhauser's Snoqualmie tree farm and entire Sultan Basin Road was closed for that exact same reason. There used to be great places to shot along those areas, but the jerks caused all of it to be shut down to anything but hiking.

 

[SavageOne]

This isn't just about people leaving unsightly messes. The article mentions attempts to get a shooting range shut down because people( who in all likelihood moved near the range AFTER the range was established ) don't like all the noise. The Anti's don't like the fact that they have to share public lands with, cretinist, low info, mouth breathing gun people.

If every case and hull was policed, every target removed and disposed of, it still would not be enough to satisfy them. They want shooting and guns prohibited on public land, don't fool yourselves.

 

[StraitR]

Public land, be it National, State, or local parks, are a constant source of bickering over it's usage. Bird watchers, day hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, to name a few, all argue constantly about the other hobbyists and their destructive or disruptive behavior. Anyone that participates in any of those hobbies can tell you, each of the others is constantly working to get the rest prohibited.

The problems described in this article aren't a shooting issue, or even a hobby issue, it's a human issue. Some people, no matter what their reason for being in the parks, will never respect the land or the other people that use it.

 

[tacticool]

I think we should be able to shoot on public land. Designate a spot on every parcel of government land for a shooting area. Take someone who's on the Obama plan and make it their job to police the area's and clean them up. How hard could that be?

 

[cavelamb]

I don't care if trees or dirt gets shot up.

But desecrating ancient art is a whole 'nother thing.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — As a lover of ancient rock art, Steve Acerson usually roams Utah’s backcountry searching for images of hunters and rams carved on boulders and canyon walls. But one morning, on a hillside speckled with those prehistoric petroglyphs, he was also finding signs of a younger civilization: Shotgun shells. Bullets. Shredded juniper trees. Exploded cans of spray paint.

“It’s all been shot,” he said. “It’s just destroying everything.”

America’s cultural divide over guns has gone into the woods. As growing numbers of hikers and backpackers flood national forests and backcountry trails searching for solitude, they are increasingly clashing with recreational target shooters, out for the weekend to plug rounds into trees, targets and mountainsides.

 

[dsk]

Once while hiking out in National Forest land I nearly got run over by a motorcycle flying down a trail that was specifically marked for feet only, no wheels or horses. Apparently the signs at the trailhead didn't apply to him. This has been an ongoing issue for decades, as there are people out there who will do whatever they want on public land and not give a rat's ass about other people. It's a problem with a small number of selfish individuals, but the mainstream news media wants it to be a story about gun owners in general. It seems we're now everybody's favorite bad guys.

 

[7in1911]

We have flower sniffers who've been trying to get one of our local outdoor ranges shut down for years because it is close to where a hiking trail crosses, and they say it's too dangerous. Funny thing, but the shooting range was there first by at least 20 years. Of course now that the nature lovers are in town the evil gun people have to go.

What shooting range is this?

 

[USMM guy]

And what?

It seems we're now everybody's favorite bad guys.

This is news to you?

 

[OhShot!]

As gun enthusiasts we need to be better stewards of the land. My friends and I organize pit clean ups on DNR land up here in the furthest corner of the Northwest. The DNR loves us for it and they provide the garbage bins to haul away the junk. Clean up or lose the privileges.

 

[Silverquick]

The Anti's don't like the fact that they have to share public lands with, cretinist, low info, mouth breathing gun people.

If every case and hull was policed, every target removed and disposed of, it still would not be enough to satisfy them. They want shooting and guns prohibited on public land, don't fool yourselves.

THIS... right here...

No matter what you do they will NEVER be satisfied... if there's a problem here... then citations for littering should be issued, until those people clean up after themselves...

But this isn't about that... its about achieving a de facto ban by shutting down all shooting or recreational shooting...

That's all it ever was about in the first place... so no ground should be given...

 

[dsk]

This is news to you?

What I meant is that lately the news media has been hounding us more than at any time in the past except during the immediate aftermath of a rampage shooting. Hardly a day goes by that some new anti-gun "study" doesn't make the news or some other knee-jerk article gets penned that vilifies gun owners. It's as if they're moving into position for something big.

 

[dsk]

What shooting range is this?

The Snoqualmie Valley Rifle Club. I haven't been a member there for many years, but I remember they leased the land from Weyerhauser and there were groups opposed to them even being there because a hiking trail snakes along the ridge directly above the shooting range, and they've been trying to get Weyerhauser to kick them out of there.

 

[USMM guy]

What you are saying is certainly true.

What I meant is that lately the news media has been hounding us more than at any time in the past except during the immediate aftermath of a rampage shooting. Hardly a day goes by that some new anti-gun "study" doesn't make the news or some other knee-jerk article gets penned that vilifies gun owners. It's as if they're moving into position for something big.

But my thinking is that they are always trying to maneuver themselves into a situation where they think that "something big" is going to happen. And certainly the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. I have some thoughts of my own on this subject. I can see the momentum for the onslaught building as well as anyone. It is there and it is real.

This is one of the reasons why I have decided to get a little more vociferous as far as my views concerning the 2016 Presidential election are concerned. I am still mulling it over. But I may have at some point in the future, a proposition that I will share (If I am permitted) with the membership of this forum.